The White Blonde Girl
by absolutely.ari
Summary: I remember the first time I saw her..." Clam. Some Cassie at various points. Disclaimed.
1. Chapter 1

**The Block Estate**

**OCD Benefit**

**4:35 PM**

I remember when I saw her at the OCD Scholarship benefit at the Block estate. Her white-blond hair was wavy and hanging down, with nothing whatsoever done to it, as far as I could see.

She wasn't dressed up as fancy as the other girls that were clinging to each other, whispering and staring at each other with looks of disdain. She caught my eye, as soon as I arrived there. Wearing a white fuzzy sweater, khaki shorts, and black-and-white Keds, she was still pretty cute.

"Dude! Who are you staring at? C'mon, this scholarship slash party thing is boring. We've got to get it started!" my friend, Derrick, trumpeted, smacking me on the back.

"No one... and, dude, what are you _wearing_?" I laughed. Derrick was wearing his ragged soccer jersey, shorts, and sandals. "I thought this was supposed to be a "classy" -air-quoting the word- "benefit, or if you say, party. "

"So did I… but then I changed my mind," Derrick smirked.

"Whatever." It was then that I noticed a glossy, brown-haired-very, _very_ hot girl eyeing us, trying to look like she was bored and just glancing at the people. But I could tell she was checking us out. I was irresistible. My friends were irresistible. The freaking _soccer team_ was irresistible.

"Who's that?" Derrick muttered to our soccer buddies, Chris Plover, Kemp Hurly, and Danny Robbins. "She's _hot_."

"That girl?" I asked, indicating her with a shrug of my shoulder. But I was interested… way interested. My curious interest in that other girl was way, way long gone. She giggled, talking to her three other friends: a curly redhead with piercing green eyes, a blonde with green-blue eyes, and an _amazingly_ pretty Spanish girl with huge boobs. She looked like a model.

"Yeah. Where are you, man? I thought we came here to check out the girls!" He smacked me again on the back.

"Yeah, I guess she's pretty." I said. Hold up, what? Did I just say-hey, wasn't that Massie Block? As in, _the_ Massie Block whose parents were hosting the OCD Benefit?

"_Guess_? Someone smack him. Or pour…" The next thing I knew, someone had poured water on me. My friends were cracking up; spit flying from their mouths.

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. Why was I so moody? Before I knew it, the brunette that we'd been looking up was parading up to us.

"Hey. I'm Massie Block," she said casually, looking us up and down. She paused, clearly waiting for someone to say something. I could see her swallow, and could tell she was nervous. "Who're your friends?"

Derrick, Plovert, and Danny stared. And stared. And stared. I smiled at her-yes! I was smart enough to remember her name! Hah on you, Harrington.

"Those guys are my friends, Derrick, Chris, and Danny," I replied, gesturing towards them when I said their names. "And my name's Cameron-weeeell, Cameron's a dorky name, so my friends call me Cam."

"So, I'm your friend?" she asked with a sly smile.

"If you say so." I shrugged again, swallowing. God, she was hot. But I totally knew that Derrick would pounce on her-well, not literally, but he wanted her. Probably all of the Briarwood guys did.

"Great." She flashed an alluring smile, or so she probably hoped, at me and walked away, flipping her ultra-straight hair. As soon as she got back to her "girlfriends", they giggled and proceeded to, what I guessed, gossip.

"Wow." The three other guys were staring in awe at me.

"What?" I asked, annoyed by their open show of admiration. Could they even _act_ mature? Whoa. What the freaking hell was I saying? Was I Mr. Maturity all of a sudden? And why was I talking to myself?

"You going for _Massie Block_, dude? Actually, I'll answer that. YES! You'd be crazy to turn down a girl like that." Derrick blurted. "But you won't go for her, will you?" He stared at me, smiling slightly, but I knew Derrick. He didn't want me to go for her.

A sudden flash. I whirled around, and white light blinded my eyes. Dying! Dying! Oh, wait… just that girl and her friend again. Man, she was cute too…

"No! I don't like her!" What the hell just came out of my mouth?

Danny gasped. "You did _not_ just say that, boyfriend," he scolded, acting like a girl and shaking a finger in front of me, wiggling his butt.

"Oh yes he did! Am I wrong? He _did_!" Chris said.

The guys cracked up again, and Derrick was laughing so hard he needed to hold the table.

I stalked away, yanking my loose geeky button-down shirt. "Shut up," I snarled.

The guys exchanged a glance. "Someone's been missing their beauty rest." Derrick smirked.

A flash blinded me. Was I dying? If I was, how was I dying? Why was I repeating myself? Who knows? When the light cleared, I realized that it was only from a camera and that cute blonde girl was the owner of the camera. She was laughing with this weirdly dressed brown-haired girl with green eyes. Hanging close to her was Chris Abeley with his hothothothothot girlfriend.

She had a good smile. I stopped in mid-step. What was I thinking? I was actually _falling_ for this girl I hardly knew. And I only knew her _from a distance_. I was acting like a… love-struck girl. And what about Massie?

I shook my head and accompanied my friends as we strode boldly to the girls and asked them to dance. The blonde and the redhead each danced with Derrick; the Spanish girl danced with Chris; some other girl danced with Danny. Who did I dance with? I danced with Massie Block.

My name's Cam Fisher. And this is my story about the time I met my girlfriend, to the times I broke up with her and got back together with her.

* * *

**REWRITTEN AS OF 9/22/08!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Block Estate**

**When Hell Freezes Over Party**

**7:00 PM**

**October 31st**

_They_ were here. Both of them: the rich girl, Massie, and the blonde. They were hosting this party. I knew her name, and that she was new. I'd also heard of her being cute but goofy, with her short bangs.

She loved gummies. And she hung out with Abeley's sister, Layne.

Why couldn't I stop thinking about her?

Oh crud. Crap crap crap. Vader and Derrick were with me as Massie walked up to us in her wannabe-sexy-but-not-sexy costume. Actually, the costume _was _kinda sexy… really sexy. Okay, stop acting like Hurley, Fisher! Get yourself together!

"Don't you look… _vicious_." I grimaced as Massie came up to us.

"What are you supposed to be?" she asked Derrick. I noticed (wow, I notice a lot of things) the subject change and knew she had no comeback, and was nervous.

"A dirtbag," Derrick replied. "So, are these the famous costumes we heard about all over school today?" Derrick looked Massie up and down. I didn't really care what the costume looked like; I was too busy pulling a twig out of Vader's gorilla costume facial fur. Besides, I'd already seen it… when? Duh, now!

Massie looked ready to say something, but a pink Powerpuff Girl came up. "Hey, sorry I'm late," she said to Massie. "My parents made me pose for a _thousand_ pictures before they'd let me leave the house." She turned to us and said, "Hi, I'm Claire."

"You must be the new girl we've been hearing about," Derrick exclaimed. I turned away from the gorilla to steal a look at her. Cute. But compared to Massie? Well, couldn't exactly compare since she had a mask… but oh well? Dammit, confusing myself!

"You've _heard_ of me?" Claire sounded surprised. But Massie pulled Claire away from us before we had a chance to answer.

I wondered what Massie was saying to Claire. She looked kind of annoyed. Soon, Claire left to walk away and towards the zombie waitresses.

So I too, walked to the treats table and Massie followed behind, chatting and mingling with the guests. I grabbed a handful of candy corn and chucked the handful into my mouth, chewing on the tart-maybe bitter?- candies.

* * *

**Disclaimed. Rewritten 9/22/08**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Block Estate**

**When Hell Freezes Over Party**

**8:40 PM**

**October 31st**

We looked up as Massie treaded over with her friends Dylan and Alicia and her dog, Bean. "I am _dying_ for marshmallows," she said to no one in particular. She set Bean down onto the grass near the pit.

"Me too!" Dylan said.

"Same," Alicia gasped, as if it were a coincidence. I hardly believed that any of them ate sweets; not many girls did.

"Sorry to crash, but this pit is theee best for roasting." Massie smiled at us. "I heard it has something to do with the wind."

Yeah right. The wind? If it had something to do with the wind, wouldn't the fire be blown out?

"No problem," Vader said. He sat up and smoothed his gorilla fur with a hairy gorilla paw.

Massie stuck three marshmallows on a pitchfork and held them over the bonfire. She was between Alicia and Dylan, who were doing the same. They kinda looked like guys.

Derrick, Vader, and I sat on the blankets below the girls and ripped handfuls of grass out of the ground, staring at the girls' Kiss It undies.

"I _love_ watching a girl do a guy's work," Derrick said, laying back and folding his hands behind his head.

"Well, that's what happens when there are no real guys around," Massie teased. She and her friends exchanged hearty high fives.

"You're burnt, dude." I laughed. "She got you on that one. I rolled over, laughing.

I noticed Massie's tiny, miniscule grin fighting its way onto her face. She forced it down, though.

"Shut up!" Derrick pelted a marshmallow at me.

"Owww!" I shot one back.

Seconds later, all six of us were throwing a marshmallow war. It got really ugly when the girls started throwing the burning hot ones fresh off the fire.

"Ow, my neck!" I screamed at Massie. How dare she! I peeled the gooey, burning marshmallow off my throat and shook it three times before it flew off my fingers and onto the grass.

"You're dead," I growled. I tore open a new bag and launched a full-scale attack. Suddenly there was a hailstorm of marshmallows. I bit into one, savoring the sudden sugar as it melted on my tongue.

Massie closed her eyes and threw the rest with her eyes closed. One of the waiters dressed as a Satan helper got hit on the cheek and a guy dressed as a karate guy was pelted on the back.

Massie opened her eyes as her cell phone started ringing. "Time out," she gasped. "Hullo?" She was out of breath, and mouthed, "It's Kristen," when she realized who it was.

"Howzzit going? We totally miss you, KRISTEN." Massie side-peeked at Derrick. "Does anyone wanna say hi to KRISTEN?" Massie held out the phone to us. Vader made slurpy wet kissing sounds in his ear.

"Get away from me." Derrick squirmed and pushed Vader away from him.

I saw the side-peek and, briefly wondered if Massie had a crush on Derrick. _That_ would make his dreams come true. When would _mine_?

I came back to earth as Dylan snatched the phone from Massie and said, "Let _me_ talk. Hey, I heard you were bawling your eyes out earlier. Are you okay?" She was practically yelling. Vader sniggered.

"Yeah, I can't believe you got GROUNDED… I used to get GROUNDED a lot when I was a _kid_, but now that I'm _older_, I _ne-ver_ get grounded."

Alicia whipped a fluffy marshmallow at Dylan's head and we all cracked up. "Derrick, stop it," Dylan laughed, clearly wanting Kristen to hear.

"It wasn't _me_! It was Alicia," Derrick protested.

It didn't matter. Dylan dropped Massie's phone on the ground and opened fire on derrick.

"This is boring," Alicia whined. "Who wants to play… spin the bottle?"

"I will!" Vader answered immediately. Derrick and I changed a look and rolled our eyes. How desperate was Vader?

"By the way, why do they call you Vader?" Massie asked.

Why did she say that? That was _so_ random. But I answered her anyway. "Have you ever heard him breathe?"

Massie laughed so hard it sounded like she was choking. Was she desperate too?

"Anyone else want to play?" Alicia asked. "Come on, you guys, it'll be fun!" she pleaded once no one answered.

A mysterious voice popped up. "I'll play."

We all turned to look at whom it was. A gorgeous girl stood alone by the pit. The light from the fire lit up her blue eyes and her wavy blond hair touched the middle of her small back. She looked like a girl who belonged on a beach in California-she was also dressed as a surfer girl (in a really tight wet suit).

"Yeah, me too," Derrick said suddenly. He was totally turned on. "I'll play."

I tightened my jaw, then relaxed. "Count me in," I added, not wanting to be left out.

I could hear Dylan mutter something that sounded like, "_Now_ they want to play," to Massie.

"Cool," the girl said, "it's great to see you guys, by the way."

I could tell Massie, Dylan, and Alicia all had no clue who the girl was, but Massie said, "Yeah, great to see you too," anyway.

"Ehmagod! Olivia Ryan! I didn't recognize you. Where have you been all semester?" Alicia exclaimed.

"I was super sick. But I'm much better now." Was she whispering? Probably not. Who _would_ want to whisper?

Dylan coughed, but I could make out the words, "Nose job". Massie coughed, "Totally!" back.

"You look amazing," Alicia complimented her. Sure, she was beautiful, but not as much as Alicia. Yet I didn't really like her. I liked… _her_. Even those this so-called Olivia was totally hot.

"Yeah, different… somehow." Massie cocked her head and tried to look at Olivia from an angle.

"All right, who's ready to play?" Alicia asked us.

"I am!" Olivia raised her hand, even though there was no need.

"I'll round up more people," Alicia said.

"Yay! I'll help." Olivia clapped, and the two girls linked arms and headed off toward the dance floor.

"Who does she remind me of?" Dylan asked Massie.

"No idea. I was wondering the same thing." Massie pulled out her cell phone, as did Dylan. Derrick, Vader, and I looked at each other, shrugged, and looked back at the two.

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea to play spin the bottle with someone who's been out for half a semester with a mysterious, face-altering sickness," Dylan whispered.

"Ehmagod. Ah-_mazing_ point," Massie agreed.

"Yeah, but her sickness made her look better than she did before," Vader argued.

"For now," Massie scoffed, waving her hand in the air. "Who knows what kind of long-term effects this thing may have?"

"I vote for health!" Dylan sang, looking at Derrick. She lifted her palm in the air.

"Me too," Massie agreed. "I say we make a run for the out-of-order bathroom and hide there. It's _way_ more… _private_." She raised her eyebrows, as though she were asking a question.

"I'm game," I said smiling, chewing my Big League Chew grape gum.

"What about you?" Dylan asked Derrick.

"Sure," he mumbled. I knew that he was totally willing to make out with Massie Block. "Let's go."

"Oh, so you're just going to leave me here to inhale Olivia's germs? That's great. Thanks." Vader shouted after us. I knew he was just kidding, and pretty happy.

"Do you think Vader's really mad?" Dylan asked Derrick.

"Nah, he has Alicia and Olivia all to himself now," Derrick replied. "He'll probably thank us."

Dylan grabbed three Chunky chocolate squares on our short walk across the lawn and shoved them in her mouth.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, gorgeous?"

We looked behind us. Two boys in dresses were behind Massie.

"We heard there was a spin-the-bottle game over at the pit," the taller boy said. Todd Lyons. "Care for an escort?" He offered Massie his elbow.

The other kid giggled, sounding like a mouse.

"Shouldn't you nice _ladies_ be looking for some _boys_ to kiss?" Massie retorted.

Derrick and I cracked up.

"Excuse us, miss," Dylan said, pulling Massie away as we made a run for the cabana.

We slipped in and I shut the door behind us. Massie waved her arm around, filling the air with the smell of women's perfume. Blech. Too strong.

"I wonder how dark it gets in here with the lights off?" I grinned. I flicked the switch and the bathroom turned pitch black.

"Check this out," Massie said, panicking. She turned a dial on the wall; a bulb in the ceiling lit up and the room glowed red. "Isn't that cool? It's a heat lamp. Now it _really_ looks like hell in here."

"Ooh's" and "whoa's" filled the room. Uh huh. Yeah right.

"Is it true you have a crush on someone in our grade?" Dylan asked Derrick. She turned the faucet on and off.

"What?"

"I heard you've had a crush on Kristen ever since the OCD benefit last month," she asked. "Is it true?"

"Well, I-," Derrick started to say. But he was interrupted by Alicia and Olivia.

"DIE, MORTALS! DIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!" They burst through the bathroom door, making scary faces.

We all grabbed on to each other and screamed louder than any of us ever thought we could.

"Get 'em!" I shouted, pushing past Massie and running after Alicia and Olivia, who took off screaming and laughing. Derrick followed me.

Olivia sprinted across the lawn in her super-tight wet suit, turning everyone's heads with every stride she took.

I pushed on my pace and sped up, desperate to catch the girls who'd freaked me out.

* * *

**Rewritten 9/22/08**


	4. Chapter 4

**When Hell Freezes Over Party**

**Stone Porch**

**9:30 PM**

**October 31st**

I panted as I ran from those two crazy girls. I sprinted past five girls dressed as mice, looking over my shoulder to see if they were still after me.

I changed my route and-BOOM! Accidentally slammed into a caricature guy, sending him face first on the picture he was drawing.

"Medic," the guy groaned, flat on the ground. I was on top of him.

"Sorry, man," I apologized as I got up. "I didn't see you there."

I noticed Claire and a guy dressed in a green Powerpuff Girl costume trying to hold back laughs. Wait-didn't I see the guy earlier, when Derrick, Massie, Dylan, and I were going to the out-of-order bathroom?

"Very funny," the artist snarled.

"We… should probably go," Claire stammered, backing away. "Uh, feel better."

We broke into peals of laughter as soon as the guy was out of earshot. I had to admit, I felt bad, but it was funny all the same.

"Sorry I ruined your picture," I said.

"Are you _kidding_? You saved my life!" she replied.

"Good," I smiled.

"I'm Claire," she said. "And this is my brother's friend Nathan."

"I'm Cam."

"Who were you running from?" Claire asked.

"These two girls. Alicia and Olivia. But… I _think_ I lost them." I explained.

"Is that a good thing?"

She didn't know the half of it. "Yes. I mean, they're cool and everything, but they're a little hyper, y'know?"

"They _are_ a lot of things. All of which are worth running from," Claire agreed.

I chuckled. She was nice.

"Are you having fun at my party?" she asked, changing the subject.

The question confused me. "This is _your_ party? I thought it was Massie's," I questioned. Was Massie lying?

"We threw it together," she said. "I live right over there." Claire pointed to the small stone house with cardboard ghost on the door.

"Oh, no way. So _you're_ the new girl." Uh, _duh_. Didn't Derrick say that earlier? I silently berated myself for sounding so surprised.

"Yyyy-eah…" Claire sounded as though she was bored.

I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at her, thinking of all the things I knew from the rumors, and what I knew about her so far.

"What?" Claire tugged at a hair-tie around her wrist. I hadn't noticed how long I was staring at her.

"I heard about you, that's all," I said. "Don't worry, it was all good." It was… sort of? About how Todd was her brother, them from Orlando… And Todd saying she snored in her sleep, picked her nose 24/7, had frizzy hair, braces, and lots of zits. That wasn't the good part-but that didn't mean I had to tell her.

"Nice."

Didn't she have anything else to say? After a pregnant pause, I spoke, desperate to make this conversation last longer. I _had_ to talk to her. "Massie seems fun. I hung out with her at the benefit and I thought she was pretty cool. You know, for an OCD girl." I punched her arm gently, then flushed. Was that considered a move, touching a girl's arm in the girl language?

She giggled. "I was at that party, but you must have been too busy flirting with Massie to notice."

Actually, I did notice her. I stuffed my hands in my short pockets and smiled a small smile, having nothing to say.

"Looks like someone has a bit of a crush on Massie Block," she commented.

Boy was she wrong! Well, right… sort of… but that's the past. Five seconds ago. I heard something in her voice, but couldn't decide what it was. So, I wiped the hair out of my eyes and changed the subject, looking at the dance floor. "Wanna see what's going on over there?"

"Sure, but I can't promise I'll like it." Claire warned.

I laughed. She did have a sense of humor, unlike some people I shouldn't mention. We walked over to the floor and watched.

"Happy Halloween, everyone! Are you having fun tonight?" the DJ shouted. The crowd "whoo-ed" and clapped, loving this moment. "I have one song left and I wanna make it count. Can you handle it?"

People shot their fists into the air and everyone threw handfuls of candy around.

"I thought so. I've got two gift certificates to iTunes, right here, for the couple with the best moves," the DJ smiled, holding two white envelopes above his head.

"Those are ours," I said determinedly to Claire, wiping my hands on my shorts. I so wanted those. Think of all the killer songs I could download!

The DJ blasted Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and the crowd went wild. They threw of their hats, capes, masks, tails, shoes, and other annoying costume items and hit the dance floor.

I did my usual thing, never lifting my feet from the ground and "firing" the "guns" I made with my hands. Claire was dancing really well. Those certificates were definitely ours.

Todd and the kid Claire was with earlier were pushing each other into hot girls. When one of them was pushed into a girl, they ran away before the girl and her partner could spot them.

Finally, the music stopped. "And the winner of tonight's When Hell Freezes Over dance contest is… the soccer player and the Powerpuff Girl!" the DJ shouted, playing a drumroll.

The crowd applauded politely, and Claire and I made our way to the DJ booth to get our prize. Yessss! I knew it! Todd and Nathan were there. Maybe they thought they were the Powerpuff Girl that won.

"Get away from me, you little rodent," the DJ hissed.

Claire whispered something to Todd and the two instantly went away, going to pick up the candy from the ground.

I was so happy that I hugged Claire. I was even happier when she gave me her gift certificate.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive. I don't have an iPod."

"Well, I'll make you a killer mix of all the songs I download." I promised, stuffing the envelopes in my pocket. "I should go. Thanks for the part. It was fun."

"Cool," Claire replied.

I turned and walked away, filled with what had happened tonight. This was probably the best party I'd ever been to, including the awesome skateboarding birthday party Kemp Hurly had when he was ten.

**Fisher Residence**

**10:00 PM**

**Cam's Room**

**October 31****st**

"We were _so close_!" Derrick pounded my bedroom door. "I could have kissed-correction, _made out_ with Massie Block! Then Alicia and Olivia, those two hot girls, had to come and ruin it."

I rolled my eyes. Any good-looking girl Derrick saw was commonly referred to as, "hot". "I had fun." I smiled as I fingered one of the iTunes gift cards in my pocket. Then I frowned. "Wait, you would've made me kiss Merri-Lee Marvil's daughter?"

"She's hot… but less than _Massie Block_. So what? You should have been happy with your lot," Derrick shrugged. "But nooooooo, you had to ruin it!"

"…That wasn't my fault."

"Whatever."

Claire. The white-blonde girl. Powerpuff Girl. New kid.

What luck that I ran into the creepy art dude!

"Cam. Cam. You there? Hellooooo? HELLOOOOOOO??" Derrick was snapping his fingers really loudly in front of my face and by my ear.

"Sorry, man. Just… thinking."

"Meet any hot girls tonight?"

There he went with the over-used word again. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Besides Massie and Dylan!"

"Yes!" I rolled my eyes. I just wanted him to get out of my room so I could go to sleep and dream about…

Whoa. Did I just think that?

* * *

**Reeeeewritten 9/22/08. Disclaimed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Fisher Residence**

**Cam's Room**

**5:14**

**November 3rd**

I was just surfing the web when suddenly my e-mail dinged. 'You have an e-mail from an unknown sender,' the screen read.

I read the subject: 'Hey'. The sender was Massie Block. I clicked on it and a new screen popped up. It said:

_HEY, CAM,_

_JUST WONDERING IF YOU LEFT A PAIR OF SHIN GUARDS HERE AFTER THE HALLOWEEN PARTY. RENNY WHITE WAS THE ONLY OTHER GUY DRESSED AS A SOCCER PLAYER AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO CALL HIM 'CAUSE HIS VOICE SOUNDS LIKE SNUFFLEUPAGUS AND I LAUGH EVERY TIME I TALK TO HIM. :)_

_-MB_

I scanned the e-mail quickly and replied.

_MB-_

_I HAVE MY SHIN GUARDS. THNX. I LOL'ED WHEN I READ ABOUT RENNY. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT TOO. HEY, THERE'S A RUMOR GOING AROUND THE OCD IS GOING UNIFORM. TRUE? ALSO HEARD IT'S YOUR FAULT. IF IT IS, THAT'S PRETTY COOL._

_I LIKE TROUBLEMAKERS. :)_

_-C_

After that, I just stared at the computer. I was REALLY bored. I mean, what did I have to look forward to? School, and more homework? Well, at least there was soccer. That counted for one thing.

After like, ten minutes, Massie replied.

_IT'S A GREAT STORY. CALL ME IF YOU WANT TO HEAR IT. IF NOT, I'LL SEE YOU SOON._

Soon? Did she really think all guys liked her and would jump at a chance to see her? Doubt it! I'm not like that… am I? Well, I would have if I hadn't met… Whoa whoa whoa. 'You're overreacting , Cam, like you always do,' I thought to myself.

I dialed up her number. "Hi, Massie?"

"Are you eating?" Massie asked. "I can hear you chomping on something."

"Uh… it's Big League Chew." Chomping? Was I even eating gum? Oh yeah… I was. Anyways, I was desperate for something to do. No one else was on, which was pretty surprising.

"Grape?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" I said, trying not to sound too bored.

"It's what you always chew!" blurted Massie.

Giddy much?

We talked for at least ten minutes, about our families, Web sites, and classes. Then we got to this sticky part, where I had to hold back from yelling into the phone.

"So, what's it like having the new girl around… what was her name? Claire, wasn't it?" I asked casually. Was she in? Or out? I knew what these popular girls could do, and how they could rip someone to shreds.

"It's such a drag. I mean, she's okay and all, but it's like a puppy. If I wanted someone to follow me around all day, I'd take Bean," she explained. She sounded annoyed about Claire.

Then she proceeded to explaining in great detail about some annoying things Claire did, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I wasn't one of her girlfriends. I didn't really care. I "mm-hmmed" in agreement and said "Yeah, I know how you feel" in all the right places. Then-

"CAM! Get down here to dinner!" my mom shouted from downstairs.

"'Kay, Mom!" I yelled back. "Sorry, Massie, I've gotta go. See ya later?"

"Sure, bye!"

I hung up and bounded down the steps. My arm ached from holding my Sidekick up to my phone to my ear, and my ear hurt from the shrill voice of Massie Block.

**The Block Estate**

**Front Lawn**

**3:58 PM**

**November 6****th**

I was in the back of the Briarwood Academy bus, and all around me, including myself, guys were throwing juice boxes at Todd Lyons, Claire Lyons' little brother.

When the bus arrived at Massie's house, Todd fled the bus like a hare being chased by a lion. Before the Richard, the bus driver, could get the door closed, Todd picked up a juice box and whipped it at Richard.

"That's for you, Dick!" Todd screamed. He doubled over, in a fit of hysteria.

"My name is Richard!" our bus driver screamed back.

"Wait, Dick. Let me off here, please!" I screeched, pounding up to the front. The bus turned and pulled up back at the Blocks' driveway.

"_Richard_! It's Richard! R-I-C-H-A-R-D! It ain't that hard, kid!" Richard shouted, scowling at the same time. I heard him mutter, "rich city good-fer-nuthin' kids…". How rude. Whatever…

"Hey, Todd, wait up," I hissed.

"TODD!" I screamed. Wow, lots of screaming today!

"Hey, Cam. Whaddup?"

"Give this to your sister, okay?" I asked, tilting my shoulder so my bag could fall off onto the ground. I squatted and dug through it until I found a CD case wrapped with rubber bands. I yanked it out and handed it to Todd, who stuffed it in his knapsack.

"_Remember_, this is for Claire. It's a mix-CD, okay?"

"Sure, Cam. Bye!"

I slapped him twice on the shoulder and ran toward the street. My job was done.

* * *

**D to the I to the S to the claimed. R to the E to the written as of 9/22/08.**


	6. Chapter 6

**OCD School**

**Sagamore Hall**

**6:45**

**November 8th**

I was slouched in my chair, next to Derrick and Kemp Hurley. _They_ came to see the hot girls. I came to see… Claire, I guess. Pathetic, isn't it? I was so love-struck with her. Okay, not love-struck, but like… yeah.

I wondered what was happening backstage. Was Claire going to be a model? What about the other girls?

Finally, Principal Burns came out and slowly oozed her way toward the podium. "Welcome to OCD's Fashion Week!" she announced with the happiness one showed towards a spider laying an egg. "On behalf of all the students who have worked very hard this week, I would like to thank you all for coming."

There was applause. Many of the Briarwood guys in my row didn't bother.

"Before… Before we get started, I would like to-"

"Awww, awww," Kemp shouted, doing his best buzzard imitation.

Principal Burns didn't change her facial expression; she merely picked up where she'd left off. "I would like to thank the editors of _Teen People_ for being here tonight. As you know, they will narrow the contestants down to two finalists and then turn the voting over to you, the students of OCD, because you put the _u_ in _uniform_."

A lot of people started clapping. "Dude, we're not in OCD…" Derrick mumbled in my ear. I started to say something, but was cut off when Principal Burns started speaking.

"We…" She chuckled annoyingly and put her hand up. "We have a professional photographer here to document tonight's show, and with a twenty-dollar donation-"

"Awww, awww." This time it was Derrick.

Twenty dollars?? What the heck? Who could get _anything_ with twenty dollars?

"I suppose we should just get started. Please turn your cell phones off. First off, Miss Ann Marie Blanc!"

The Ann girl presented her uniform idea: cashmere sweaters and taffy… no, taffet? Nah, that wasn't right either. Something about taffy!

Next up was somebody-or-the-other with her "Days of the Week" uniform with five models. They each wore a really really _really_ ugly dress in a different color with one day of the week across each chest. The Monday dress was red, Tuesday dress was blue, Wednesday dress was green, Thursday dress was pink, and Friday dress was yellow.

Next, please! That was very boring.

Something-saltman showed her masterpiece, Black on Black with a Splash of Black. Again, next! Everything was black, and it was pretty depressing. Chris Abeley's sister was up next with emo kind-of-gay-makeup-wearing guy. I couldn't remember his name. Not like I needed to.

She took a long time walking to the microphone, and cleared her throat before speaking. "OCD is committing a crime by forcing developing girls to abandon their identities, especially in these formative years!" Layne said.

Her model was dancing across the runway in a navy pleated skirt, some uncomfortable-looking shoes, and a long-sleeve T-shirt with a plastic pocket on the front.

"Clothes are my way of showing the world how I feel, and this uniform will let us continue doing that even after the school has completely stripped us of our personal style," Layne continued.

The guy took out a stack of index cards and slid in the pocket so we all could read them.

**CONFIDENT**

**CASUAL BUT SEXY**

**I FEEL FAT TODAY**

**I JUS BOUGHT THE NEW SEVENS**

Weird… anyways, after that, everyone gave her a standing ovation. Even Kemp did… not.

Next were Alicia and Olivia. Boys leaned forward in their seats, including Derrick, Kemp, and Chris. Derrick snickered and leaned back and forth, causing a squeaking sound.

Olivia took off her robe, walking the runway, swinging her arms back and forth. They proposed sandals, jeans, and a blazer. The crowd loved it. Alicia also proposed tie belts, and that girls could wear matching ties to show who their friends were.

The audience also gave them a standing ovation.

Finally, it was Massie and Claire's turn.

They were standing next to each other, with their robes still on.

"Take it offffffff!" Kemp shouted. "Strip!" he added in a whisper.

"Oh, we will," Massie said slyly, as if she were going to do something bad.

"Four girls, one redhead, one dark blond, one towhead, and one brunette," Massie started-Dylan, Kristen, Claire, and Massie did a striptease, slipping out of their robes and letting the robes fall to the ground.

Please! Claire _so_ wasn't a towhead. "Hey, what's a towhead?" I asked Derrick. Derrick shrugged back at me.

The song "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera started playing and the girls separated.

"We invited you to ask yourself," Massie continued.

"'What color palette is right for me'? Is your hair brown or black? And does your skin tone range from ivory to deep brown? If so, then you're a 'Massie' and your uniform should be pure white and green," Claire said.

Massie paraded on the stage, waving. She was wearing a dark green skirt, a matching green blazer with a yellow flower on the collar-thingy, and a purple rhinestone cell phone case on the side for a… well, obviously–a cell phone. When the chorus started, Massie took off her blazer and underneath was a white strapless top with the letter M in the upper left corner. She had purple-rhinestone-covered Keds with black knee-high socks.

Everyone applauded loudly.

"Or maybe you're a 'Kristen'," Claire said. Kristen started walking. "Your hair ranges from brown to blond and your skin has golden tones. Sound familiar? If it does, your uniform will be soft white, red, and turquoise."

Kristen wore a red skirt, a red blazer with a turquoise flower, white rhinestone-covered Keds and a cell phone holder, and the letter on her top was a K.

Claire handed the microphone over to Massie, who continued. "Do you burn in the sun and look positively sickly in beige?" Massie asked. "If you do, then you're a 'Claire' and you're all pastels… Hey, someone's gotta wear those Easter egg shades, right?"

Claire had a baby blue skirt and blazer, a pink flower, the letter C on her top, and a black-rhinestone-covered cell phone holder and Keds.

"Fiery redheads, you're a 'Dylan'. Your uniform will be ivory and lavender, the perfect shades to accentuate your rosy tones.

And of course, no uniform is complete without a version designed for woman's best friend." Massie blew into a whistle and her dog appeared from around the curtains and ran for Massie. The little puppy was wearing a green skirt and a white T-shirt with a B on the back, a black beret between her pointy ears.

They were great!

I slouched down in my seat. I guessed that Claire's team and Alicia's teams were the chosen teams to make it into the finals.

Then, I saw Claire raise her hand and wave. I beamed at her when I saw her wave, and saw Massie behind her, waving to someone. Uh, hello? Did this call for a catfight here? Massie liked me too? Or was she waving to Derrick?

Derrick sat up eagerly, his brown eyes sparkling.

Principal Burns went back on stage and called for all the competitors to join her. They huddled together on the stage with their teammates and models until the _Teen People_ decided the finalists.

Principal Burns received an envelope from them and strode up to the podium to make the announcement.

"You all received a thimble from our _very_ helpful ushers, and you'll all need that now for voting. There are two clear boxes in the hall with the pictures of our two finalists on them. Please drop your thimble in the box of the candidate you wish to vote for and we will have your results after intermission," she rambled.

"Awww, awww," Kemp heckled, raising his fist.

Laughter.

"And the finalists are…Alicia Rivera and Olivia Ryan, and Massie Block, Claire Lyons, Dylan Marvil, and Kristen Gregory."

Principal Burns started congratulating all the others, but no one cared. They were all out the door, eager to vote for their favorite.

* * *

**Disclaimed. Rewritten as of 10/04/08.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Octavian Country Day School**

**Sagamore Hall**

**8:15 PM**

**November 8th**

"Alicia! Alicia! Olivia! Olivia!" Kemp chanted, pounding the armrest on his chair.

"Nuh-uh! Massie and her people," Plovert argued.

"A and O!"

"M and her peeps!"

"A and O!"

"M!"

"Well, I say M," Derrick cut in.

Plovert punched the air and bumped fists with Derrick.

"Cam?" Kemp pleaded. "C'mon, Alicia Rivera and Olivia Ryan are waaaay hotter than Massie Block, her three friends, and that new person!"

I smiled slightly. "Sorry, Hurley. M and her peeps it is." We three all exchanged high-fives.

Kemp glared at us. "No sense of hotness," he muttered under his breath.

We started toward the very crowded lobby. "Ha! See Kemp, Massie and her people are winning anyways!" Plovert said triumphantly. We all dropped our thimbles in the box labeled with Massie, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire's photo, Kemp included–though unwillingly.

"Dayum, Massie Block is hot!" Derrick said, his voice holding something close to awe.

The four of us retreated to a just-vacated bench, keeping an eye on the voting table. Alicia and Olivia were standing by the table, and Kemp kept staring at them. Openly. And obviously.

"But Rivera and Ryan are way hotter," said the resident pervert, his voice strained. "How can't you see it? What is wrong with you, Harrington?" He jumped up and smacked Derrick on the arm.

Suddenly the lights started to flicker and Plovert let out a badly restrained laugh as Kemp immediately dashed under the bench.

"Hurley, you're not _scared_ of the big, bad dark… are you?" Harrington gasped in mock-astonishment as he clasped his hands together and held them up to his heart while fluttering his eyelashes.

"No!" Kemp squeaked, scrambling out from under the wooden seat. "Of-of-of course not!"

"That's nice," Plovert said absent-mindedly as he was pushed to his seat. Suddenly a couple of other older women prodded at us until we felt very pinched–and of course, until we were back in our seats.

"Can I please have the finalists up here onstage," she said dully. "Oh, and all cell phones off."

That moment someone got a phone call. The ring tone was set to "Pop Goes the Weasel". And it was coming from Harrington's chair.

"Crap," Derrick hissed.

I nodded in agreement. "That just about sums it up. Did your sister change it?" I asked.

"No! It's not my phone! Mine is in my dad's car!"

Suddenly a girl sitting a couple rows away and down from us stood up. "It was him!" she shouted, pointing to Derrick.

"I swear it wasn't! I left my phone in my father's Mercedes!" he shouted back while the audience laughed.

Principal Burns glared at him until he broke eye contact–almost willingly.

"Before we announce tonight's winner, I would like to thank Pia and––" she croaked.

_Doo doo, doo doo, doodoodoodoodoo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doooooo doo._

Everyone looked at Derrick. But Kemp, Plovert, and I stared ahead, biting our lower lips to keep from laughing. This was good. So, so good.

"I swear," he protested, putting his hand on his heart like he was going to say the Pledge of Allegiance. He laughed nervously, his face starting to turn red.

"_Then why are you finding this so amusing_?" Principal Burns demanded angrily, her face turning slightly redder as she faced more "stressing" things.

"Biiiiird lady turns into a bloody bird lady!" Kemp whispered.

_Doo doo, doo doo, doodoodoodoodoo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doooooo…_

With a suppressed sigh, the principal stalked down from the stage and over to Derrick, snapping her fingers twice to indicate him to stand up. He did so, nervously, and she frisked him, as the room erupted. Hurley's face turned red and finally he busted out laughing.

Plovert smiled slightly and shook his head, while I laughed quietly. I think.

Derrick buried his face in his hands while people clapped, cheered, and "aww-awwed". Someone dialed up the cell phone one more time.

_Doo doo, doo doo, doodoodoodoodoo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doooooo…_

Derrick looked up and his brown eyes connected with my two different-colored ones. They obviously had a lot of cuss words swimming around in there.

Bird lady followed the sound and yanked the ringing cell phone from _under his chair_. "Take over, P," she shouted to her assistant while she dragged Harrington by his shirt.

"Sorry 'bout that," Pia said apologetically. "Okay, let's bring those boxes out here and announce tonight's winner!"

Her assistant struggled to carry both boxes but no one helped her. Poor girl. Who cared, anyway? We were all waiting to hear the announcement.

Pia walked around the boxes. "With 102 thimbles, we have… Massie and Claire!" Pia announced. The two named girls started jumping, and so did Kristen and Dylan.

"And with one hundred thirty-six thimbles, we have Alicia and Olivia. Congratulations, _you_are the winners of the OCD Fashion Week Uniform Contest! Looks like it's blazers, jeans, and tie belts from on out!"

The four teens stopped bobbing and Alicia and Olivia started.

Kemp let out a catcall, jumping to his feet. Plovert and I exchanged a glance.

"But you didn't vote for them, Kemp," I pointed out.

"So? I voted for them…" he said. After a second thought he added, "With my heart," thumping his stomach.

"Hurley, that's your stomach," said Plovert.

"Whatever! I have better things to do than learn the uh-tah-muh-nee of the human body!" Kemp said, frustrated with us two–supposedly "killing his buzz".

"Anatomy!" Plovert and I hissed at the same time.

"Repeat, _whatever_!" said Kemp, throwing his hands in the air and walking away.

"Somebody has his male PMS," Plovert snickered.

"That is so hard to believe," I said dryly.

"Todd Lyons! Todd Lyons!" I called out, pushing my way through the crowd. The crowd swept me along, pushing me closer to the small gathering with Claire and her family and friends.

"Todd!" I hissed, grabbing the small, lanky red-head's arm and yanking him over to the wall. "Give your sister this note."

The note said:

"DEAR CLAIRE,

YOU MUST HAVE REALLY HATED THE CD I MADE CUZ YOU NEVER GOT BACK TO ME ABOUT THE MOVIE. ANYWAY, I THOUGHT YOUR UNIFORM WAS AWESOME AND I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE WON.

–––CAM

P.S. THE KEDS WERE A COOL TOUCH"

He nodded once, stepping forward to go.

"Wait," I said suddenly. "You're my official messenger." I gave him a small smile.

Todd grinned widely back at me. "Thanks!" he exclaimed, snapping his arms by his side and saluting me. He ran back.

* * *

**If I still have any readers-I'm really sorry it's taken since like, February to update. I'm a procrastinator, I know...**


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